The problem
If you are a non-technical operator and you are searching “best warehouse management system” on Google, what comes up is a bunch of WMS provider lists hosted by… a bunch of WMS providers.
That makes it hard to know what’s honestly a good provider and what’s not, because these WMS providers are biased.
Plus, the number of WMS providers is infinite, so it can be overwhelming just to decide where to begin your WMS search.
Once you get on a call or demo with a WMS provider, talking technicalities with the salespeople can be hard to know what’s BS and what is real- making this process even more confusing.
Our 2-step process
We believe that narrowing your search down to two main questions can help eliminate 99% of the options. Saving you hours of sitting on demos and talking to the wrong WMS providers.
Why you should listen to us
Well, you should be skeptical of random people on the internet or talking to strangers, just like your momma taught you.
However, I will be upfront about what I gain here. More on that in a second.
I’m Jake Haynes, co-founder of Pilot West Studios in Nashville, TN. We help distribution, manufacturing, logistics, and construction companies solve their software problems every day through custom software, so we see firsthand what is going on in these industries.
Before starting PWS, I worked in logistics & supply chain software for nearly a decade, so I was once the (hopefully, not so) dreaded salesperson on the other end of the product demo.
So, mix my experience with speaking to people who operate in your industries, plus working in logistics software- I feel I am more than qualified enough to guide you through speaking with other salespeople and evaluating WMS options effectively.
Now, what do I have to gain here?
We are a custom software development company, so suggesting off-the-shelf solutions for WMS systems is not to our benefit. We have no WMS to sell you, and while we build custom systems like WMSs, we believe that 90% of people should just get a WMS off the shelf.
We turn away most of the people we speak to for that exact reason.
I hope this article helps the 90% of people searching for an off-the-shelf WMS. AND If the 10% who think they need custom but aren’t sure where to turn, that they talk to us with one of our free roadmapping sessions.
Now, on to what you were looking for…
Step 1: Does the WMS have an API
When evaluating a WMS provider, you should first check whether they have an API. For those who don’t know what an API is: Think of an API like a door built into your software that allows your data to go in and out of your software into other places- or bringing data from other systems outside of your WMS into your WMS.
If your WMS has no API, or “door” in this case, then your data stays in your WMS.
Maybe you have experienced this before. It manifests like copy/pasting data from one screen to another, then another, and exporting it in Excel. (I want to apologize to anyone who feels like that example was personal.)
Having an API is important because it makes your quality of life much better and will increase the longevity of the WMS.
How?
- It will allow you to integrate your systems so data flows seamlessly from ordering to inventory, to accounting, etc. This eliminates the copy/paste example above.
- This will give you the ability to connect your preferred AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, etc) to your WMS, if you ever would like to do that.
- It will give you the ability to build custom solutions that could work with your WMS. Instead of building a WMS from the ground up, you can find something that covers a majority of what you need “off-the-shelf”, and you can build custom solutions that are unique to your business and attach them to “play nice” with your WMS.
If the WMS vendor you’re considering does not have an API or they vaguely say something about “working with some select integration partners”, then just move on. Mark my words: the software companies that are not open and willing to offer an API to all their customers will be left in the dust over the next 5-10 years. That is a story for another time.
How to find if someone has an API?
- You can Google “(WMS Name) API” and most companies will have their API info listed. If they have an “Open API” with all their API documentation listed publicly, then that is a great sign!
- You can ask the salesperson what is their API access like, and if they don’t give you a clear “Yes, we can get you API access”, then move on. They may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes through technical jargon.
Step 2: Start with your warehouse constraints and uniqueness
An easy way to eliminate most WMS providers from your search is to start with your non-negotiables. Your non-negotiables should not be shiny features (especially “AI-features”- whatever that means).
Your non-negotiables should be around what makes your warehouse truly unique.
Think of a specific unique workflow to your business or a unique piece of equipment that the WMS needs to work with.
For example, we helped a client of ours who is a 9-figure distributor through this same workflow. It helped us go from hundreds of options down to 3 viable WMS options, and then 1 recommendation (once we talked to them).
That is because we started with what was unique to their business.
What was unique to them was two main things, which eliminated most WMS options:
- (Workflow) They are a zone-based “picking” distribution company
- (Equipment) They have a specific conveyor system that the WMS needs to integrate with
Based on those two things alone, it narrowed it down from hundreds to just 3 viable WMS options. This saved us dozens of hours of wasted time with WMS vendors.
Bonus: Not sure where to even begin your search?
Now, if you’re completely overwhelmed about where to even begin your warehouse management system search, there is a little hack that can help you get started in the right direction.
If you have a trusted software provider you use and love, that is the type of system that usually integrates with WMSs (think ERPs, TMSs, and ordering/e-com tools). They will usually have a list of the WMS partners they integrate with. And if you’re close enough with them or you ask the right questions, you can get them to tell you which WMS tools they actually like and suggest.
This should give you a list of a select few.
What to do if you searched everywhere & nothing fits
Now, if you’ve searched high and low and you haven’t been able to find a WMS that actually fits how your business operates, then you have one of two options.
1. You haven’t searched thoroughly enough
This one might sting me here, but it happens more often than we’d like to admit. A company will come to us wanting to build some type of custom software because they think that nothing else fits, and we do a little bit of research and find a few viable options.
So you must use all your tools at your disposal.
- AI search
- Ask around to competitors (in different regions) or people in similar fields and see what they suggest.
Make sure you have truly left no WMS stone unturned.
2. A custom WMS might be your next right move
There are rare cases where a company is unique enough in how they operate, or they’re one of one in an industry, where off-the-shelf solutions don’t meet their needs. Getting a WMS “off the shelf” creates more pain by requiring broken workflows and workarounds to compensate for a system that doesn’t fit.
One of our customers is one of the largest distributors of organic grains in the U.S.
They came to us because any ERP that they looked at or used prior was for a grain elevator company, not a grain distributor.
And because they are really “1 of 1” in the industry, being the largest in the country, there was no system that actually met their workflow requirements.
Because of that, a custom-built ERP (transportation, inventory, accounting, etc.) was the most profitable and efficient option, rather than sinking another $500k into implementing a system that didn’t fit their business (plus another $80k in annual licenses).
But again, the number of companies actually in that situation is a small minority. Maybe only 10%.
If you are in that situation, where nothing quite fits
Shameless plug here.
If you have looked at every option for WMS, and nothing quite fits, we offer a free consultation where you can personally sit down with me, and we will look over your options.
If we find something off the shelf that meets your needs that you didn’t find in your search before, we will tell you. If custom truly makes sense, we will begin to roadmap what that could look like for your business for free. You get to keep the roadmap whether or not you work with us.
You can book a time with us here
Happy WMS Hunting
Whether you’re technical or not, starting with these two focus areas will help you narrow down many WMS options and save you hours.
